Motorola Defy – Full Review – Video + Tests

A long time ago, Nokia came out with the 5210 and later the 5500, both these phones were extremely rugged and water resistant. But, they were no smart phones, in fact the devices were poor built versions of Nokia’s existing line.

From then till now no one thought that, post the smartphone era, we would see a Smartphone which would defy the elements and prove to be a valuable competitor in the Market.

Enter the MOTOROLA DEFY, lets take an in-depth look at the interior and exterior of the device.

Build Quality

This device exceeds many others by leaps and bounds and does exactly what everyone wants, resists water and dust, the screen is tough and scratch proof, the construction is super rigid and environment proof, Drops on concrete and mis-pocket events wont deter the DEFY from doing what it promises to do, Stay with you till the absolute end.

Rubber backing, Rigid metal frame and outer body, along with gorilla glass and masculine rivets, which man would not want a defy?

The device delivers as promised and can live up to harsh expectations, dip it in water , throw it around even go through a wash cycle. check out our quick test video below

Hardware

Buying a smartphone today leaves you expecting more for less. Lets see what we like about the device:

Stunning 3.7″ touchscreen

480×854 px Resolution

Gorilla Glass

Rubber back seal

Water resistance

Dust resistance

Wifi

FM RADIO

5 Megapixel Camera

1500mah Battery

impact resistant design

Accelerometer

Proximity Sensor

800MHz Cortex-A8 processor

TI OMAP3610 chipset

The device has all the fancy stuff you can get at the price + it has the rugged construction. We still miss HD video.

Camera & Multimedia

The Defy packs a 5 MP shooter which has auto focus, but, lacks tap to focus. Hopefully, an upgrade from motorola can add that feature to the device. I

mages come out sharp from the device and extremely quickly. Video on the other hand is just VGA and could have been HD video at 720p. That would make the camera on the defy, a complete package. The fact that you can shoot images and video underwater is what makes the camera an extremely fun instrument to use. Video at pool parties anyone?

As far as media playback goes, since the device runs Android, it is capable of a vast variety of formats and supported codecs. Everything is available either free or at a premium from the marketplace. The device packs enough power to play all sorts of videos and stream movies from the internet. The loudspeaker on the device is simply “superb” packs a punch has great sound coming from a sealed speaker.

Call Quality and Battery Life

Here at iGyaan we stress on Call quality a lot. Especially since the DEFY is priced slightly higher than other phones, we wanted that the device perform well. We got exceptionally clear sound from the earpiece, even as the device was dipped into water several times it continued to sound clearer than ever. the microphone is also exceptionally good at doing its job. Motorola made sure that the earpeice issue was resolved before launching the device.

We got zero dropped calls in our 4 hours of testing and no signal issues what so ever. The device is just plain a good phone.

Battery life was also pretty impressive we got on an average 5 hours of talk time on the device. About 8-9 hours on media playback, 6 hours of internet browsing and about 20-24hours of music playback. All of this with the WIFI on. The battery is a 1500mah battery, the large capacity plays a huge role in such battery performance.

OPERATING SYSTEM

The Defy runs Android 2.1 with MOTO BLUR- (yes MOTO BLUR works perfectly in INDIA). The performance of the device is great with a few hiccups here and there. The upgrade to ANdroid 2.2 should be rolled out soon, and should remove the lagging in the processor. Since this device has a 800 mhz cortex A8 processor , flash would work perfectly in the browser. We would also definitely love the move to sd card option.

Currently in its state the Moto Blur and customized UI from Motorola add to the experience of the OS. The OS is color-ful and has a lot of unique customizations that make life that much easier while using the DEFY.

Conclusion

An extremely well built phone / device with somewhat all the latest features. It does lack a few things (HD video, Android 2.2) but atleast a software upgrade would bring one of them. Water resistant and dust proof had us from the get go. The device is an absolute must for the outgoing individual, an outdoor person or even a clumsy fellow.

Founder and Chief Editor of iGyaan. Bharat likes to keep on top of technology ! Follow Him on Google Plus : Google+

Ashishcasanova

hey plss tell me about its vedio quality……???
is motorola defy records vedio in VGA quality or in HD 720P ……..??
and pls tell me which is better one motorola defy or samsung galaxy ace..

Yamahayockers

how much does it cost in delhi now????

vivek

above mentioned that it does not support HD video… what does it mean???? it has 480x854px
we cannot play even any 720px video songs too???

ketan desai

is defy worth buyinf for 15,000 pls rp;ly

ajit

I gyan is a cheat there is no MOTOblur in INDIA….and this site claims it is there….that means they have not tested the device here in india

romil

ya right..so true ajit… these punk don’t have answer to u post!!!

Effects Ht

i think xperia active is a good opponent for defy…
-hd video recoding.
-android 2.3 gingerbread
-1ghz processor
-hifi accessorizes and head set.
but it also few drawbacks
– prize
– display size (3 inch display)

any how always better than defy …

Vik

news around is,an upgrade phone to defy is on it’s way called motorola defy plus which has a one gigahertz processor and android 2.3 gingerbread..

Ajit

I feel Defy lacks in Battery Lifee…Else ALL’s FINE….Wht say?

Sachin

Battery is pretty nice after changing the settings in Data Manager and selecting only 2G as the network, it runs 24hrs with moderate usage of wifi, games and other application, GPS and 3G network eats up the battery like anything… So avoid using for better battery performance

tushar

does the upgrade to froyo is available for the defy in the market.

Vik

yes,that’s the news on internet .Update to froyo is available in India .you can update via motorola service center or using phone’s software updating tool.It needs atleast 50% battery life.Defy users
can upgrade their phone to Froyo over the air but do note that the
update is over 100MB (122MB to be exact). Alternate way is by using Motorola software update
tool on your PC. Some have reported loss of contacts on upgrading to
Froyo so please have a backup of your contacts and all other important
data.

Key Changes:-
–>Minor UI changes.–>Faster UI due to better optimization.–>Better gaming performance.–>Applications can be moved to MicroSD.–>full adobe flash 10.1 support for faster net surfing.

Vik

also please review new changes brought by froyo on motorola defy!!!

Vik

some user reviews on other websites says that after upgrading their defy to froyo ,they are experiencing some sluggishness in the phone.please check it out ,

SameerNandan

Can someone tell me hows the battery life? How long is it lasting?

Ashutosh Shirke

thank you for the review!! it helped a lot!!! :)

Akshay Bhavsar

Well there are two famous ROMS CM7 and MIUI which is better and stable fast !!
Please help me out !!

Giri

Hi Guys, I’m not able to decide which phone to buy Defy or Galaxy S i9003? Please suggest … Did anyone update Defy to 2.2?

hey plzz i have many doubts related to d defy,1st of all when will d froyo update come 4 india,and will it get gingerbread later???, and in ur review u’ve stated dat it has motoblur, but d motorola website says dat dere’s no motoblur in india,and is d motorola custom ui gud as compared to htc sense or samsung touchwiz???plzz reply soon as i’m abt to buy dis fone

Anwer

S Sarabjeet

hy i m thinkin to buy this Defy !
so should i go for it or is their any better option ?

i guess motorola defy is not launched with Motoblur in India.
What extra advantages does Motoblur provides? I m planning to buy DEFY but my friends are suggesting me Samsung Galaxy S. Which one should i buy?

Sudeep

anybody please help me ….i went 2 univercell hyd for buying this phone i came 2 know that there is no moto blur in the device…. can anybody confirm in india its launched with or withour motoblur……

@bharat nagpal … you are using airtel’s which data plan ??? gprs/edge or 3g … what speed did you get in the defy using that ???

Jarain99

Plz also tell about the problem in defy with its speaker failure..

Shriram

Hello Bharat Sir, please tell me whether motoblur is available on this device, I heard that this has been released without motoblur and please help me choose between this device, Samsung Galaxy ACE and HTC Wildfire

hey did you buy on flipkart.com or local store ??? how is the performance of the gps ???

Srini

i brought from local store for 18,000 in DELHI… the GSP performance is very good

Aditya Pandit

Hey I am going to buy a DEFY this week. But I am worried about its SAR rating.
Can you please confirm that whether it is meeting the regulatory limits? Though Motorola claims about its safety, I want to know from a real user or someone who knows it well.
Thanks.

Srini

Hi Bharat after seeing your review i brought this phone DEFY… really a awesome phone works really great and amazing phone… just wanted to ask as the screen in scratch resistance but still wanted to ask do i require a scratch guard for this phone…. i just wanted to be safe with the screen that’s why clearing my doubts… i know its Gorilla Glass display but still wanted to have your opinion…please help us on this… thanks in advance…

well a screen protector is always good, and also a cheap way of adding insurance to an already tough screen, get it for sure. Consider posting such questions in the forums , so others can benefit from it :D

Srini

Hi Bharat thanks for your advise.. will definitely do the same… thanks once again

vivek

hi,in specs mentioned that it does not support HD video… what does it mean???? it has 480x854px
we cannot even play any 720px video songs too???

This is by far my favorite rugged phone on the market. The rugged phone market has come a long way from the bulky yellow Nextel’s out there. I maintain an active life style, and I can see this phone as a great phone for employees out in the field. My favorite feature would have to be the 3.7″ HD screen. I am a DISH Network subscriber/employee, and the first app I installed was their Remote Access app. I can now stream over 200 live HD channels to my DEFY!

Pulkit Arora

hey i’ve heard that motorola defy is available ‘without’ motoblur in india … can you confirm this ???
and is it better without motoblur or without motoblur ???

Manideep751

bharath tell us abt the sar value pls and abt the earpiece pls i want to buy this phone it will be a greate help for iam buying this frm my pocket money pls

I was going through the reviewa of this handset and must say that I am quite amazed and planning to buy this one. However, can anyone assure that the Earpiece problem is solved? Did Motorola completely replaced the defective handset? After replacement did the problem occur again?

The highest SAR value for Defy when tested for use at the ear is 1.19 W/kg .
Reference “http://rfhealth-sar.motorola.com/SAR/english/sarEnglish-results.jsp?standard=ICNIRP-1&prodid=DEFY+MB525+(UMTS+850/2100)”

Rdx

good stuff, you seem to be improving your presentation skills! keep it up

i hav read on other links that this phone faces earpiece problems after few weeks of usage. n its thot 2 b a manufacturing fault. tho i desperately want this phone, i am still apprehensive if the problem still persists. its reely a gr8 phone. the one which i exactly wanted! anyone who has already purchased(in india) plz post ur experince. thanks in advance.

Bharat when u dropped the phone in the water,,, doesn’t the water seep through the earphone [mean from were we hear the other person talk] or microphone holes??? daemm thats astonishing that water does not enter the phone.
Could it be that the water goes through the earphone and microphone but does not do any damage ???
Please Explain… thnx

The CPU/GPU is listed on Motorola website as OMAP3610+PowerVR SGX530[3], whereas according to TI’s latest Technical Reference Manual[4], OMAP3610 does not actually exist.
According to the said Manual, specifically from page 198 to 202, there are OMAP3611/3615/3621/3622/3630 running at various stock speed, and all of the variants have a built-in full speed PowerVR SGX530 GPU.
And since OMAP3611/3621/3622 only come in “CYN” package, which can’t have bolt-on memory chip (Package on Package), OMAP3615 does not have any video processors (both IVR2.2 and DSP) at all, the only remaining candidates are the OMAP3630 variants. Between this, the stock speed and various report of driver recognizing it as OMAP3630-800[5], it’s quite safe to draw the conclusion that OMAP3630-800 is powering the Defy and Motorola gave the wrong spec as they did with Droid 2.

imho motorola does have a 3630 chipset but motorola marketed that defy has a 3610 chip
the main prob is 3610 does not support hd .. so for covering up that secret, motorola wud never give HD recording to defy..
n for ppl who are really concerned abt HD a small advice — a phone can never be a dslr or a point & shoot..
moving to the processor
ti omap’s are very snappy than snapdragons ..so defy(800 mhz) is way ahead than desire n xperia x10(1ghz)
so guys its the best android out there after SGS …

Omkar Sathe

In the 1st para (2nd line), you are saying “OMAP3610 does not actually exist..”
Then 1st para (last sentence) you are saying “it’s quite safe to draw the conclusion that OMAP3630-800 is powering the Defy..”
Then in the 2nd para you say “the main prob is 3610 does not support hd .. so for covering up that secret, motorola wud never give HD recording to defy..”
I am really sorry if I failed to interpret you, but I just want to know one thing..
Will Defy ever be able to shoot 720p HD videos..?